A dozen Missouri school board members traveled to Washington, D.C., last week to discuss education issues, and among them was Jefferson City Public Schools board member Steve Bruce.
The top three issues discussed this year were the recently passed Every Student Succeeds Act, reauthorizing federal grant funding for career and technical education for school districts, and creating more flexibility for the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.
It's the second year Bruce has attended the trip.
"We have their (lawmakers') undivided attention, and we're able to have more fruitful discussions," Bruce said. "We're there to let them know they value our perspectives and positions. The conversations we've had have directly impacted how members have voted. The info we share with them gets disseminated to others. It's beneficial to represent the stakeholders in our community."
This year, the group primarily focused on reauthorizing the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act that expired in 2006. The act provided $1 billion in funding for high school and middle school education that filtered down from the state to the district level.
With job opportunities still thin and student debt rising, technical education is becoming a more popular route for careers after high school. The additional funding could provide an opportunity for the Nichols Career Center to expand programs.
"The story we were told is college is the only path to give you a good life and a stable income, and college is a very good pathway but it's not the only option for a lot of the students we serve," he said. "I want our kids to have expanded opportunities, but that also takes funding."
The Every Student Succeeds Act was also a key subject, as it was last year before lawmakers passed it. It replaced No Child Left Behind, which was seen as a failure by much of the education community, Bruce said.
Every Student Succeeds returns more control to the states and local districts and prohibits the U.S. Department of Education from pressuring districts to adopt any specific curriculum, such as Common Core.
"What that means for us is JCPS will have greater ability to form our own plan and accountability systems," Bruce said. "Those are things that we can base on knowledge of our students, community expectations and other higher-performing school districts that are in our peer group, so it gives us much greater flexibility and it allows us to be much more responsive to what the community norms and standards are."
However, there's a concern the federal government will overreach beyond what was intended in the legislation. Bruce and the other school board members wanted to express their stance on potential new regulations.
Bruce said they want to make sure Congress is monitoring the regulations closely so the act maintains the spirit intended.
The last piece was the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which expired in 2010. Two bills, one in the House and one in the Senate, provide more flexibility about portion size and healthy meal options for students, which the district favors.
Bruce has heard complaints children are hungry an hour after lunch because the portion sizes are too small. It's also a problem with athletes who aren't getting enough to eat.
"That doesn't sit well with families, and it doesn't sit well with me," he said. "When you add in price increases that are USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) mandated, that doesn't sit well with me, and that's something we talked about at length."
One key difference in the House resolution is language increasing community eligibility from 40 percent to 60 percent. The change could result in lower reimbursements to districts for the free-and-reduced lunch program, and fewer families could qualify for the program.
Bruce said they expressed strong concerns about that aspect. The shift could put more financial burden on local taxpayers. The impetus behind the change is concern more families are qualifying for the program than actually need it. But Bruce thinks there are better ways to improve the integrity of the program without drastically changing the eligibility.
The July 5-7 trip was sponsored by the Missouri School Boards Association, and travel expenses were paid for by the school district. Because it's a district-funded trip, Bruce said, he took every effort to keep costs low.
"There's always a couple folks that look at these types of visits: is this the best use of staff time?" he said. "I'm there to work. I take my responsibility to advocate for kids seriously. You go home tired. There's not a lot of time for sightseeing or socializing."